Two veteran members of the Jackson Police Department marked their retirement during a walk-out ceremony at police headquarters on July 1.
According to a post on the police department’s Facebook page, Capt. Steven Laskiewicz and Detective Lt. Francisco Mendez were congratulated and saluted by friends, family members and co-workers.
Laskiewicz, a native of Sayreville, started his career as an auxiliary police officer with the Sayreville Police Department in 1994. Laskiewicz was hired and appointed as a police officer in Jackson in July 1996.
Among his duties with the department, Laskiewicz served as a Field Training Officer (FTO) and was involved in updating the FTO program in the early 2000s. In June 2005 he was promoted to the rank of sergeant.
In November 2011, Laskiewicz was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and oversaw the new Office of Professional Standards.
In November 2015, Laskiewicz was promoted to the rank of captain and assigned as the Uniformed Services Division commander before being assigned as the Investigative Services Division commander in 2019. During his tenure he was involved in the formation of the Detective Bureau’s new Special Enforcement Unit.
Mendez, a native of New York, served in the U.S. Army prior to starting his career in law enforcement with the Brookdale Community College Police Department in 1993.
In 1994 he became a Class II special officer with the Keansburg Police Department, before becoming a full-time police officer in Keansburg in 1996.
In 2001, Mendez was hired by the Jackson Police Department. During his service he was a Field Training Officer, an adviser to the Police Explorers Post, member and later supervisor of the ATV patrol unit, member of the Jackson Police Special Response Team, and a member of the Ocean County Regional SWAT.
Mendez was recognized as the police department’s Officer of the Year in 2006 and in 2009. He was also honored by the Ocean County 200 Club for dealing with an armed emotionally disturbed person who was taken into custody without injury to anyone.
In December 2008, Mendez was assigned to the Detective Bureau. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant in 2011 and was named Supervisor of the Year in 2015.
Mendez was reassigned to the Investigative Services Division as a detective sergeant in 2015 and was promoted to the rank of detective lieutenant in 2021.
According to the Facebook post, during his tenure, Mendez was instrumental in the police department’s hiring process, revamping the system which allowed the agency to hire professional candidates and police officers.
The Jackson Police Department has recently supplemented its motorcycle unit with the graduation of four officers from the Philadelphia Highway Patrol Motorcycle School.
According to a post on the police department’s Facebook page, the officers completed an 80-hour training course which tested their riding capabilities and in turn earned them their Highway Wings.
The Highway Wings symbolize the qualifications of the motor officer, not only skilled in the safe operation of a police motorcycle, but professional character, integrity and appearance.
Jackson’s motorcycle officers are Police Officer Robert Reiff, Police Officer Randall Trasky, Police Officer Matthew Colangelo and Police Officer Tristan Bennett. Police department administrators said residents will be seeing the officers on the road in the near future on police motorcycles.